> Uh, that's from the United States Bill of Rights. Most other countries don't have a similar document
I don't have worldwide statistics, but every country in Europe (except Britain) has a constitution with very similar rights. Heck, very soon all of Europe might have a european constitution on top of it.
Also, AFAIK all member states of the EU have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, and the UN Human Rights convention.
Of course, our lovely Labour government is prone to opting out of inconvenient bits of it, like Article 5.2 "Everyone who is arrested shall be informed promptly, in a language which he understands, of the reasons for his arrest and the charge against him" etc. On the other hand, the US government gets its "justice" department to draft memos explaining why torture is legal and the Geneva convention doesn't apply to them. Oh, and prisoners of war are not prisoners of war so you can treat them any way you like.
There's a lot of hypocrisy in Europe, but it's going to be a photo finish with the U.S.;)
> They seem to have, unfortunately, developed a fetish for bureaucracy and a strong fear of 'offending' anyone. Very true.
> There have been many instances, in Britain and France for example, where honest discussion about religion and terrorism has been censored as "hate speech." That may well be the case, but certainly the first example you give doesn't back up your claim. MP makes unflattering statement about person; person threatens to sue. No censorship there, I'm afraid. You can make a valid point that libel laws in the U.K. are skewed, but that's a different argument.
The french example is more supportive of your argument.
Let's not blame this on the Jews... The ADL has every right to disagree with Scott Simon (who he?), Mel Gibson, the Arab League, or even the United Nations, and be public about it.
>A VM otoh does get this capability for free. TANSTAAFL;)
> Java enforces garbage collection, and thus optionally gets the particular performance gain Err... whether garbage collection gains or looses you performance depends very much on your application. I am not convinced that any garbage collector can even be theoretically faster than automatic variables.
>As was pointed out, one of the strenghts of C/C++ are pass-by-value.... After programming in C++ for 14 years, I don't think I've heard that one before
>The fact that you have to explicity declare a c++ parameter as pass-by-reference suggests that those interested in "good programming practices" (tm) will only make a pass-by-reference if you intend to modify it's contents const &? Ever heard of const references before? I don't feel qualified to judge your Java programming, but it's evident you're not particularly familiar with C++.
I'd be interested to know how you have more control over the design of 3rd party libraries in Java than in C++.
Hear hear - if you're going to choose a language that's easier to develop in, why not go all the way and use a language that's really easy to develop in? Either a special purpose language, like Matlab, or R for statistics, or a general purpose one like Python.
My main gripe with Java has always been that it's not much more expressive than C++ - in fact, it's actually less expressive than modern C++, and the only thing that rescues it are more comprehensive standard libraries
Gee, so let's say we poor foreigners get the "export" version of the software, that would really limit us, wouldn't it? After all, only American programmers can write really good Software - just ask Linus;)
Imagine a world where all engines are built from scratch... most of us wouldn't be able to afford cars.
That said, intimate knowlege of your medium is useful in many ways, but I don't think the analogy works for painters or musicians. I can't see how you'd become a better violinist by practising woodwork for ten years instead of the violin and music;)
> We know that you have looked to the United States over the years as a benchmark for progress.
Attention US-Citizens! No one abroad has been looking to the US as a benchmark for political and social progress since about 1973. Sorry to disappoint you.
>We wonder why people think our government and political system are evil. We wonder why nobody trusts us.
Basically, because the U.S. in public espouses democracy for all (good so far), while in practice supporting dictatorships (e.g. Saudi, Iraq until they invaded Kuweit, Nicaragua pre Sandinistas,....), sponsors terrorism (e.g. the "contras"), helps overthrow democratically elected governments (Chile), supports regimes who torture (e.g. Turkey, at least in the past).
If you act hypocritically, don't be surprised that people call you a hypocrite
How is it not correct? Agreed, they haven't said that they want to make it compulsory yet, but it's clear that the only thing less useful than an ID card is one that you don't need to carry.
Oh, and it'll be mandatory to access the NHS, to apply for jobs,....
Hear hear! Whatever happened to the Freedom of Information act Labour was so keen on when they were in opposition?
I'm getting very fed up with hearing that the government misspends my money because of "commercial confidentiality" with private companies. Surely I have a right to know how my money is spent? And if you enter a contract with the government you should expect that to be subject to public scrutiny!
In the UK you have the Human Rights Act, and the European Convention on Human Rights, which the government "opts out of" whenever it becomes inconvenient.
Like, for example, when you want to lock up some foreigners without trial and you don't have any evidence.
Given that you get something like a 200 fine in the UK for driving without insurance or a license, I think the danger of being locked up for messing with your plates is rather low.
What I'm complaining about is the sanctimonious "We put up speed cameras to save lives" claptrap. They do it to raise revenue.
Now, if they wanted to save lives, they would: 1. Introduce 20mph zones in town, especially in dangerous areas, near schools, etc. 2. Police these zones effectively, e.g. with cameras, and with more draconian fines. 3. To appease drivers, increase the speed limit on Motorways to something sensible like 100mph, and focus on dangerous driving instead of speed. The biggest cause of accidents on motorways is not the speed, but insufficient distance.
The trouble with the Liberal Party (FDP) in Germany is that while they are somewhat liberal on economics (actually, more corporatist these days), they are mostly socially conservative.
The trouble with the Greens is that they're the other way around.
Oh for a party that's liberal economically and socially - i.e. doesn't want to fuck with my money, and doesn't want to fuck with my life!
>No country can survive indefinite foreign investment. Some is good, but things have gone far beyond "some", for Ireland, England and many other nations.
Evidence, please?
> It's a standing joke that the only road car actually made in the UK is Japanese. Actually, car production in the UK is alive and well. Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, Vauxhall, Rover, Jaguar, Lotus, Caterham, Morgan, MG, and I'm sire I've missed a few.
> For a country that once prided itself on the works of Jaguar, Rolls Royce, British Leyland, Rover and Granada, that's been no small collapse. British shipyards lie derelict, with all the jobs overseas. Britain is a rusting hulk, with little left that's native and functional. Well, yes, Britain has suffered sixty years of continuous mismanagement, both politically and economically. I fail to see how foreign investment has made the situation worse, though.
Slashdot Mirror
News are news, they're supposed to report what happens.
More scary is that the rating systems allow kids to see violent behaviour, but nothing sexual.
> Uh, that's from the United States Bill of Rights. Most other countries don't have a similar document
;)
I don't have worldwide statistics, but every country in Europe (except Britain) has a constitution with very similar rights. Heck, very soon all of Europe might have a european constitution on top of it.
Also, AFAIK all member states of the EU have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, and the UN Human Rights convention.
Of course, our lovely Labour government is prone to opting out of inconvenient bits of it, like Article 5.2 "Everyone who is arrested shall be informed promptly, in a language which he understands, of the reasons for his arrest and the charge against him" etc. On the other hand, the US government gets its "justice" department to draft memos explaining why torture is legal and the Geneva convention doesn't apply to them. Oh, and prisoners of war are not prisoners of war so you can treat them any way you like.
There's a lot of hypocrisy in Europe, but it's going to be a photo finish with the U.S.
> They seem to have, unfortunately, developed a fetish for bureaucracy and a strong fear of 'offending' anyone.
Very true.
> There have been many instances, in Britain and France for example, where honest discussion about religion and terrorism has been censored as "hate speech."
That may well be the case, but certainly the first example you give doesn't back up your claim. MP makes unflattering statement about person; person threatens to sue. No censorship there, I'm afraid. You can make a valid point that libel laws in the U.K. are skewed, but that's a different argument.
The french example is more supportive of your argument.
For real amusement value, try showing a nipple on US television ;)
Let's not blame this on the Jews... The ADL has every right to disagree with Scott Simon (who he?), Mel Gibson, the Arab League, or even the United Nations, and be public about it.
Funny - I posted something making exactly the same first two points, and was moderated as flamebait. go figure.
Spot on the money though, mr. mad poster
At least I'd trust Stoiber to find Germany, the US, Afghanistan AND Iraq on a map without help ;)
That doesn't mean I'd vote for him, though.
>A VM otoh does get this capability for free. ;)
TANSTAAFL
> Java enforces garbage collection, and thus optionally gets the particular performance gain
Err... whether garbage collection gains or looses you performance depends very much on your application. I am not convinced that any garbage collector can even be theoretically faster than automatic variables.
>As was pointed out, one of the strenghts of C/C++ are pass-by-value....
After programming in C++ for 14 years, I don't think I've heard that one before
>The fact that you have to explicity declare a c++ parameter as pass-by-reference suggests that those interested in "good programming practices" (tm) will only make a pass-by-reference if you intend to modify it's contents
const &? Ever heard of const references before? I don't feel qualified to judge your Java programming, but it's evident you're not particularly familiar with C++.
I'd be interested to know how you have more control over the design of 3rd party libraries in Java than in C++.
Hear hear - if you're going to choose a language that's easier to develop in, why not go all the way and use a language that's really easy to develop in? Either a special purpose language, like Matlab, or R for statistics, or a general purpose one like Python.
My main gripe with Java has always been that it's not much more expressive than C++ - in fact, it's actually less expressive than modern C++, and the only thing that rescues it are more comprehensive standard libraries
Well, I'm on my second Sony laptop, and very happy with both. And both run SuSE linux nicely.
Gee, so let's say we poor foreigners get the "export" version of the software, that would really limit us, wouldn't it? After all, only American programmers can write really good Software - just ask Linus ;)
Beowulf beat Grendel, and then kicked Grendel's mum's butt!;)
Imagine a world where all engines are built from scratch... most of us wouldn't be able to afford cars.
;)
That said, intimate knowlege of your medium is useful in many ways, but I don't think the analogy works for painters or musicians. I can't see how you'd become a better violinist by practising woodwork for ten years instead of the violin and music
> We know that you have looked to the United States over the years as a benchmark for progress.
Attention US-Citizens! No one abroad has been looking to the US as a benchmark for political and social progress since about 1973. Sorry to disappoint you.
>We wonder why people think our government and political system are evil. We wonder why nobody trusts us.
....), sponsors terrorism (e.g. the "contras"), helps overthrow democratically elected governments (Chile), supports regimes who torture (e.g. Turkey, at least in the past).
Basically, because the U.S. in public espouses democracy for all (good so far), while in practice supporting dictatorships (e.g. Saudi, Iraq until they invaded Kuweit, Nicaragua pre Sandinistas,
If you act hypocritically, don't be surprised that people call you a hypocrite
"Public transport works, and works well" Which london precisely are you living in? London, Massachusetts, or London, Ontario?
Cause it isn't the same London, England everyone else is living in!
How is it not correct? Agreed, they haven't said that they want to make it compulsory yet, but it's clear that the only thing less useful than an ID card is one that you don't need to carry.
....
Oh, and it'll be mandatory to access the NHS, to apply for jobs,
Hear hear! Whatever happened to the Freedom of Information act Labour was so keen on when they were in opposition?
I'm getting very fed up with hearing that the government misspends my money because of "commercial confidentiality" with private companies. Surely I have a right to know how my money is spent? And if you enter a contract with the government you should expect that to be subject to public scrutiny!
In the UK you have the Human Rights Act, and the European Convention on Human Rights, which the government "opts out of" whenever it becomes inconvenient.
Like, for example, when you want to lock up some foreigners without trial and you don't have any evidence.
Given that you get something like a 200 fine in the UK for driving without insurance or a license, I think the danger of being locked up for messing with your plates is rather low.
What I'm complaining about is the sanctimonious "We put up speed cameras to save lives" claptrap. They do it to raise revenue.
Now, if they wanted to save lives, they would:
1. Introduce 20mph zones in town, especially in dangerous areas, near schools, etc.
2. Police these zones effectively, e.g. with cameras, and with more draconian fines.
3. To appease drivers, increase the speed limit on Motorways to something sensible like 100mph, and focus on dangerous driving instead of speed. The biggest cause of accidents on motorways is not the speed, but insufficient distance.
But, of course, this would be far too sensible.
I'm soooooo glad I left the country ;)
The trouble with the Liberal Party (FDP) in Germany is that while they are somewhat liberal on economics (actually, more corporatist these days), they are mostly socially conservative.
The trouble with the Greens is that they're the other way around.
Oh for a party that's liberal economically and socially - i.e. doesn't want to fuck with my money, and doesn't want to fuck with my life!
>No country can survive indefinite foreign investment. Some is good, but things have gone far beyond "some", for Ireland, England and many other nations.
Evidence, please?
> It's a standing joke that the only road car actually made in the UK is Japanese.
Actually, car production in the UK is alive and well. Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, Vauxhall, Rover, Jaguar, Lotus, Caterham, Morgan, MG, and I'm sire I've missed a few.
> For a country that once prided itself on the works of Jaguar, Rolls Royce, British Leyland, Rover and Granada, that's been no small collapse. British shipyards lie derelict, with all the jobs overseas. Britain is a rusting hulk, with little left that's native and functional.
Well, yes, Britain has suffered sixty years of continuous mismanagement, both politically and economically. I fail to see how foreign investment has made the situation worse, though.
Hell yes! I suffered, why shouldn't they ? ;)
The Poles? The Brits? What did they do?
;)
Doon't you realise it was all done by the Americans? They captured an Enigma, and did all the work - it must be true, it was in a movie!